Again Saving Under Land
by linkinparkfan9799
Summary: Alice adopts a little poet named Linkin a year after she's left Under Land. When they return once more, trouble stirs up once more...
1. Chapter 1

_**SO SO SO SO SORRY ME HAVE NOT BEEN UPDATING! BLAME THE MEAN LAPTOP (AND DESKTOP) THAT BROKE DOWN ON ME! Now me have a new one~**_

**Chapter One**

The rain was bleak. The window was bleak. The walls were bleak. The feather pillows were bleak. The nightstand was bleak. The cold chill from the open bleak door was the bleakest of every bleak thing in the bleak room of the bleak Foggert's Asylum. The only non-bleak thing was the nine-year-old girl in the bleak white chair on the bleak tile floor. Her dress was bleak. Her straight red hair was flowing blood in a battlefield river. Her gray eyes were plain, just not bleak. Her skin was artic white and her lips were a plump red. She was skinny, scrawny, thin, skeletal, anything but normal. She seemed like the most frail of glasses; the fragile girl of Foggert's. That day on April 5, 1866 was her ninth birthday. She had already given up all hopes of getting out of the hole she was forced in. Was it so wrong to talk to herself when she couldn't sleep? Was it so wrong to greet the smiling chesire cat at the front door? Was it so wrong to wave at the stern-faced flowers or paint white roses red? Apparently so.

On that day, a soft _rap-rap-tappity-tap-tap_ echoed in the bleak room, so she faced the bleak door to a blonde woman clad in a white and blue dress. Her hair was held back with a bow so her blone locks wouldn't disrupt her vision. She was twenty, the woman named Alice. She was to turrn twenty-one soon enough, in a few months that is. Both girls stared at each other until Alice spoke with a gentle tone and warming smile. "Hello," she whispered. "What's your name?"

"Linkin," the girl answered. "Linkin 'Taylor' Costhby. Who are you, Miss?"

Alice held out a thin hand, not exactly Linkin thin though. "I'm Alice Kingsley. I'm here to adopt you."

"This is not an orphanage," Linkin bleakly stated. "This is Foggert's Asylum, Miss Kingsley. As much as I want to go with you, they will not let me."

Alice held up papers with sloppy scrawls and neat signatures. "I think they have made an exception. So, do you want to come along?"

A small smile played Linkin's lips as she stood with amazing and surprising grace, skipping out having nothing but the clothes on her back to bring with her. Hand in hand, both girls strolled out of the asylum with small smiles on their delicate faces, both staring at the bleak sky of that bleak day. Little did she know of a colorful and wonderous world, where insanity was sane and sane was insanity.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

After a month of both girls living with the other, Linkin got the hang of smiling occasionally and being as mad as she was. She painted white roses various colors with Alice, greeted the rabbits, waved at the flowers with stern-faces once more, and dressed without corsets, only stripped stockings to her favor. May 5, 1866, both were asked by Alice's boss to attend a special gathering. Alice's mother came to pick both up, a look of concern on her face as she saw Linkin skip over with a lavender bow holding her hair back so it wouldn't obscure her precious vision of youth. The hair held back came down her back in curly waves of blood, no longer perfectly straight much like in Foggert's. Her dress had the corset-like top, laced with black and colored lavender. The skirt of it was a mixture of lavender and black ruffles, bouncing and flouncing as she skipped away in her tiny black shoes with pinned lavender roses fashioned from cloth. She hummed a tiny poem that she wrote. Something along the lines of this:

_**Fantasy**_

_Fall into this pretty page._

_Trust me, 'tis not a cage. _

_Stumble into the dark meadow._

_Just follow the lurking shadow._

_You will see the Twizzler Vines,_

_All tangled up between the pines._

_You will hear the dragon's roar,_

_Up, up there, freedom aglore._

_You will touch the gremlin hats,_

_Maybe the silver wings of magical bats._

_You will smell the chocolate river,_

_Gumdrop pass, all for dinner._

_You will taste the juicy apple,_

_Even though it's just a dapple._

_So fall into this pretty page._

_Trust me, 'tis not a cage._

_You'll always stay, never wanting to leave._

_Just make sure you always believe._

Yes, something like that. She also hummed _**M.A.D**_ and _**Chess**_, but those are for a separate time. Alice helped her into the small box on wheels. Once the door closed, the horses trotted off to the road, the _trot-trot-trot-clop-clop-trot-trot-trot_ causing Linkin to stiffen straight and stare up at the mahagony roof. "So, Alice," Mrs. Kingsley began, "how have you been?"

"Fine, Mother," she informed blankly. "Have you met Linkin?" She gestured to the small girl next to her.

"I'm afraid not," Mrs. Kingsley smiled politely. "Hello, Linkin."

Linkin faced the aged woman with a straight face, no sign of emotion to be found except boredom in the clouds of gray. "How do you do? I'm Linkin 'Taylor' Costhby. Do I get the pleasure of knowing you?"

"I'm Mrs. Kingsley," Mrs. Kingsley smiled. "My, Alice, she's so polite!"

"And quite the poet," she smiled gently.

"Yes, I am," Linkin bowed her head. "Often about a pretty lamb. Or, maybe, a slice of ham."

Mrs. Kingsley applauded softly. "Bravo! I can see you as the poet of the century someday!"

"Oh please," Linkin muttered. "It's a door, which needs the proper keys. Without out it, it's as good as fleas. I will only if I am at ease."

Mrs. Kingsley's slight smile wavered slightly. "My...a little depressing...No matter!" She clapped her gloved hands together and clasped them. "Where we're going, you're _bound _to find plenty of friends to make you smile!"

Linkin said nothing, she just stared out the window of the door, wondering if the rain were to save her from a possible bore. Her stockings, lavender and black, slid slightly down, so she tugged them up, but they slid down right again. She tugged them up once more, but they slid right down again. She poked her skirt to them slipping up, in which she raised a brow and passed the matter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The carriage stopped and Alice oppened the door. Linkin skipped out with her red curls bouncing up and down behind her. The place...

...was bleak.

Everything was either a light color near white or green. Linkin's face was plain, no emotion except clear boredom. Alice walked up next to her and took her hand, walking down the path and a woman with similar traits to Alice, except healthier looking skin, came up with a stretched smile coated in blood lipstick. "Alice!" she cheered. "Oh how's my little sister?"

Alice was hugged and she patted the woman's arm. "Hello Marget. This is Linkin, a girl I adopted."

Linkin noticed Alice failed to inform everyone she adopted her from Foggert's. She guessed she found this personal and kept it silent. "Oh she's such a beaut!" Margret shrieked. "I'm Marget!"

"I am Linkin 'Taylor' Costhby or Cos-th-bye. I would appreciate you keeping your voice low and your spirits high."

"Oh, a tiny rhyme there!" Margret giggled.

"I love to rhyme," Linkin swayed. "It's a great way to pass the time. I could rhyme about plants of lime. I could rhyme about a dasterly crime."

Alice patted the top of Linkin's head. "She's wonderful, isn't she? Linkin, why don't you find some children to play with while I talk about with some of my friends?"

Linkin nodded once before skipping off, her hands clad behind her back. The ruffled skirt bounced and the lavender and black puffy sleeves twisted up her arm. A group of girls giggled and laughed under a blooming white tree. Linkin skipped over and stopped suddenly, hands clasped behind her back. "Good evening, girls," she greeted.

The laughing stopped and they turned, their noses slightly wriggling in disgust. "Ew..." a girl whispered.

"Who are you?" a second asked, black bun up high and her face caked with useless amounts of make-up.

"Linkin 'Taylor' Costhby, or Cos-th-bye. I came over to greet you 'Hi'. So 'Hi', you little white lies. It is time for me to say good-bye."

She skipped off with the girls' mouths agape. A group of boys varied in weight, thin, obiece, or just normal. One was ghastly pale, one was tan. Two were obiece, three were too scrawny. The tan boy was the only normal weighted one. She stopped and the ghastly pale one stared with an eyebrow raised, croppy raven hair in tiny tangles at the ends. The tan boy had russet hair and glittering blue eyes, stepping in front of Linkin in the instant she stopped.

"Why, hello," he bowed, reaching out to take her hand. She didn't object. "Who are you?"

"Linkin 'Taylor' Costhby, or Cos-th-bye," she blankly stated for the fourth time that day. "Oh me, oh my. Is that a butterfly on your tie?"

He glanced down and, true enough, there was a blue butterfly on his tie. "Oh, yes, there is." He plucked it off by the wing and it dropped to the ground, the wing broken. "There we go."

"Aw!" she pouted, picking it up. "Poor thing! What did it ever do to you?"

The boy was taken a back. "It's just a butterfly."

"So? I like butterflies!"

The ghastly pale boy sat silent, blinking his dark brown eyes at Linkin. "That was rude, Tomas," he muttered.

"It's a _butterfly_, Jack. Nothing more," Tomas snapped. "Not my fault."

"Yes it is," Linkin spat. "You broke it's wing! Aw, poor dear..."

"You're treating it like a baby!"

"That is because I _love _butterflies. I do not like _you_."

She skipped off over to a group of women, where Alice was silent and seemed uncomfortable. Linkin tugged on the back of Alice's skirt, so Alice turned to see the butterfly struggling in her palm. "Oh dear, what happened?" Alice whispered.

Linkin pointed to Tomas. "I told him the butterfly was on his tie and he plucked it off and dropped it, leaving it to die."

Alice sighed and accepted the butterfly, setting it on the rail of an altar and gently fixing the wing, the butterfly flying over to Linkin's nose and perching on it, making her nose tickle slightly. A stout woman came up and wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sight of the butterfly, who flew off soon after. "Hello Alice. Hello..."

"Linkin 'Taylor' Costhby," Linkin curstied. "I do enjoy a pretty butterfly. They fly. They never sigh. It's always sad when they die."

"Oh," the woman, Alice's boss's wife, blinked. "You like to...rhyme?"

"Yes, oh yes, I do. I could rhyme something about a cockadoo. I could rhyme about a stalk of bamboo. Oh I love to rhyme, yes I do. Do you wish to rhyme to?"

"No, I don't," she sighed. "Alice, could I talk to you in private?"

Alice nodded and walked off, leaving Linkin to glance around. "Everything's such a bore," she sighed. "Nothing less, nothing more. Maybe flower or four?" She sighed. "What's the point? There's nothing here to interest me! Oh, the agony!"

Linkin sat and watched as Alice and the Mrs. talked. She could make out a few words, and put together sentences. She got this:

"That girl is odd..."

"She's not bad," Alice defended. "She's sweet. Treats insects and animals like equals."

"That's the thing. She shouldn't. You need to disipline her more!"

"She's fine the way she is though," Alice grunted.

"I don't care. I want her to act like a _normal _lady!"

_How does it feel to want? _Linkin thought bitterly. _I want to be treated kindly, but what do I get? _She stood and started to go through the mass of people until a little boy with red hair and brown eyes slammed into her. "Oops!" he giggled. "Sorry miss!"

She blinked and looked up to two well dressed adults. One was a woman with light red hair, all up in a bun and her face prunish. The man was no better. "Linkin?" the woman pushed her spectacles up to the brim of her nose. "Is that you?"

"Yes Mrs. Costhby," Linkin nodded. "But I no longer love you, just as you don't love me."

The man gaped. "Of course we love you!" he gasped. "We sent you to Foggert's for your own good! Talking to yourself, waving to flowers, that's mad!"

"So?" Linkin blinked plainly. "I have a new home now, so good bye. I hope you die."  
She skipped off as the boy examined his parents' faces obliviously. Alice was stomping away from the Mrs. and bumped into Linkin. "Oh, Linkin. Want to look at the flowers?" she whispered, smiling.

Linkin nodded and Alice took her hand, both walking into the hedges and staring at flowers. Tree branches held blue flowers in the middle of bloom. Everything was dark, and in Linkin's view, absolutely beautiful. A rustling was heard and both stopped. They squinted further to see a white rabbit tail and out popped a white rabbit head. A _tic-tic-ticking_ was heard and Alice smiled, leaning down next to Linkin. "Something wrong?" Linkin asked.

Alice shook her head. "How would you like to come with me to follow the little rabbit? There might be a world where nothing makes sense, except nonsense."

Linkin beamed. "Really Alice?" Alice nodded and she giggled. "Oh boy! Let's go!"

Linkin lead and both chased the rabbit to a holllow tree with a gaping hole. Alice walked over and turned to Linkin, taking her hand. "Be careful now, it's quite a fall..."

Linkin nodded enthustiastically and both lept through the rabbit hole.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Lamps were stuck in the dirt, pieces of furniture were not excluded. Things flew and Alice tried to not scream, but Linkin stared at everything with a happy smile glowing on her face. A piano threathened to crush them, but stopped short of Linkin's face. She reached out to press a key and soon after a minute they crashed onto a bed and slammed through what felt like tile, landing on something hard. A chandelier was upside down and Linkin rubbed her head, sitting up to find her hair sticking up. The Chandelier wasn't upside down; _they _were upside down! Alice blinked a bit before both girls fell onto the floor, a big hole showing where they had entered. Linkin examined doors that circled them, a table with a small bottle, a chair, a key on the edge of the table, a box under the table, and red curtains hanging from the ceiling. Linkin stood and walked over to the table, seeing the bottle said 'Drink me' in a typewriter sort of manner.

"Alice, what's this?" she offered the bottle.

"Drink to see," she smiled, grabbing the key. "Just not all of it."

Linkin shrugged and drank some, feeling an odd sensation roll down her spine and the room started to grow. No...she was starting to _shrink_. Her face was blank as the dress was no longer her size and a little droopy clothing clung to her now hand-sized figure. Alice drank some as well and shrunk down to. Her clothes also fought to clung, for the dress was only fit for those of normal size. Linkin was confused. "How are we supposed to open the doors now?"

Alice smiled and walked over to the curtains, pushing them aside to reveal a small door as tall as Alice, Linkin being somewhat smaller with age. "See?" she smiled. "Now, you see the box?" Linkin turned to the box. "Grab the cake inside. We'll need it later."

Linkin skipped over and pushed open the lid to grab a square cake with white frosting. She trotted back next to Alice and Alice turned the key in the knob, pushing the door open and both girls walking out into the sunlight. Plants towered over them. Clouds were quite large and some flowers had stern faces. Tree branches twisted in odd directions and squaking birds flew overhead. Linkin beamed and Alice tugged her forward. "Little rabbit!" Linkin called. "Little rabbit!"

A white rabbit in a waistcoat hopped into view, checking a pocketwatch. He turned and gasped. "Oh! Alice, it's you!" He hopped over. "I didn't know you could come back! Eh...who's this?"

Linkin held out a hand. "Linkin 'Taylor' Costhby. I like to rhyme. Rhyming without a sigh. It is good for passing the time. Oh me, oh my! Did you drop that dime?"

True enough, there was a dime somewhat back. The rabbit smiled and shook his head. "No. But you are a superb poet if you ask me!"

Alice nodded. "See loves to rhyme. Don't know why though..."

Linkin's eye twitched a bit. She never told a single soul why she really loved to rhyme as she did. The rabbit nodded. "Well. The White Queen and several others would want to see you. Come along! They might have an excellent opportunity to meet Linkin here to!"

They walked off, but a roar brought all to freeze instantly. Alice looked about. "What was that?"

Rabbit sighed. "There's been unpleasant rumors flhying about. I guess that's why."

"What rumors?" Linkin squeaked.

"That the Jabberwocky has returned."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"That's impossible!" Alice gasped as they walked (or skipped). "I slayed the Jabberwocky myself!"

"You did?" Linkin blinked. "Besides, isn't it the 'Jabberwock'? Not 'Jabberwocky'?"

Rabbit shook his head. "No. Jabberwock is just for a miserable poem written about it."

_**Jabberwocky **_

by Lewis Carroll

_'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves _

_Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;_

_All mimsy were the borogoves,_

_And the mome raths outgrabe._

_"Beware the Jabberwock, my son _

_The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!_

_Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun _

_The frumious Bandersnatch!"_

_He took his vorpal sword in hand; _

_Long time the manxome foe he sought—_

_So rested he by the Tumtum tree, _

_And stood awhile in thought._

_And, as in uffish thought he stood, _

_The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,_

_Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, _

_And burbled as it came!_

_One, two! One, two! And through and through _

_The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!_

_He left it dead, and with its head _

_He went galumphing back._

_"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? _

_Come to my arms, my beamish boy!_

_O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" _

_He chortled in his joy._

_'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves _

_Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;_

_All mimsy were the borogoves,_

_And the mome raths outgrabe._

Yes. The poem was all too familiar to Linkin. "So, Alice slew the Jabberwocky on..." She scanned the poem in her head. "Frabjous Day?"

Rabbit nodded. "Indeed. It seems you know it?"

Linkin recited it and Alice nodded. "Word by word."

Rabbit scratched his head. "Indeed. Well, for starters, you left after the Red Queen was banished."

"You banished a queen?" Linkin blinked.

"Oh dear. This is going to take quite some explaining," Rabbit sighed. "Alice, would you like to start?"

Alice nodded. "You see Linkin," she said as they continued to travel, "there was an evil Red Queen of hearts. She was cruel and mean, along with a certain accomplise of hers. One day, when I was six, I fell down the rabbit hole and thirteen years later I did again, but everything was sadder. It was because the Red Queen had taken over and had the Jabberwocky, a vicious creature that could fit ten of me, maybe more!"

"So you slew it on Frabjous Day?" Linkin smiled.

Alice nodded. "I met some nice people along the way. One was-"

"Oh, Alice!" a silky voice rang. "How are you?"

They all jumped and looked up at a tall branch to a chesire cat on a branch, a full-fledged grin stretched from ear to ear. "Oh Chessur! I'm fine, you?"

"Fine as well," he floated down. "Now who," he hovered over in front of Linkin, "is this?"

"Linkin," Linkin curtsied. "Do you know what a bee goes in?"

"Ah, a tiny poet," Chessur smirked. "And a hive."

"A hive, oh yes. Do you know how you cheat in chess?"

Alice giggled. "My, she could do this all day."

"Wait until she sees the Mad Hatter," Rabbit grumbled.

"A mad hat? Would it make more sense for a mad bat?" Linkin swayed.

"No, Mad Hat_ter_," Rabbit repeated. "A mad man who makes hats."

"A man who makes hats..." Linkin whispered. "Does he also raise cats?"

"Oh dear," Rabbit huffed.

Alice laughed. "No Linkin, he doesn't."

"No cats? No bats? No meaty fats?"

"No cats, no bats, no meaty fats; just hats."

Linkin giggled and Chessur sighed. "Well, follow me. The Mad Hatter should be drinking tea."

"You rhymed! You rhymed! A splendid find!"

They all rolled their eyes at the enthustiastic child and walked on. None knew who the roar belonged to.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Linkin adored every twisted branch and stern-faced flower. Each wonderous thing and each glorious color. Nothing was bleak about this land at all. A destroyed windmill was coming into the groups view until it got to the point where even a table was visible, three figures sitting and a scatter of broken china plates and tea cups was found. A door mouse tossed sugar cubes at a drunk or insane hare who held a shattered tea cup with a shaking left paw. The man at the head of the table was no better, if anything, more insane. His clothes were essentric, his hat stood tall on his head, his hair was orange and poofy, just not elegant, his face was pale, eyes a brilliant green, and his cheeks were slightly purple along with the area below his eyes. He smiled and drank tea, not even noticing as the group approached. Linkin easily guessed who the Mad Hatter was and immediately realized there was a lacking of cats, or bats, just a hat on his head. There wasn't even meat to be found, and if there was, it was on a half piece of a tea plate, but it was too green to be such.

"Alice, who are they?" Linkin tugged on Alice's loose dress.

"The hare is the March Hare and the mouse is...jeez, I forgot!"

"Mallymkun," Rabbit said. "The March Hare is also called Thackery Earwicket. Mad Hatter is also Tarrant Hightopp. I'm Nivens McTwisp. Linkin, you could call me White Rabbit if you can't pronounce my actual name."

Linkin nodded and Alice tugged her along until they reached the table. "Hello Mad Hatter," she smiled.

The Mad Hatter froze and looked up from his cup, beaming. "Oh Alice! It's you! A bit small, but still!"

"And this is why we needed the cake," Alice muttered. "Linkin?"

Linkin broke off two pieces and handed one to Alice, eating one herself. They grew to proper size and Linkin tore off some of the dress to tie into a little pouch to hold the cake, looking around for something to fashion a band from. Alice sighed and watched the Hatter step onto the table and walk on it to them, trying his best to avoid the various pieces of already broken dishes and cups. He jumped down with a smile as wide as Chessur's. "Alice! You came back!"

"Of course I did," she giggled. "I missed you. Although I didn't think it possible..."

"Me either!" the Hatter laughed. "And...who's this?" He pointed to Linkin.

Linkin smiled. "Linkin is me name and rhyming is my game!"

"I see," Hatter bit his lip. "Tell me, do you know how a raven is like a writting desk?"

"Easy, once you put a raven on it's belly, the back of it's wings is flat, like the top of a writing desk!"

Everyone thought, and it made absolute sense. "...I see..." Hatter whispered.

"He sees, she sees, you see, I see, we all see!" Linkin shut her eyes happily. It felt good to be utterly mad and not have a single person comment about it in the negative manner.

Alice sighed with a smile. "Sorry if she bother's you, it's just...she loves to rhyme," she shrugged.

"I love to rhyme. It does well to pass the time!" Linkin hopped on the balls of her feet. "Tell me, is someone missing a dime?"

She held up the dime that was discovered earlier, having apparently snatched it up. Everyone shook their heads and she pouted slightly. "She OBVIOUSLY is a PO-UM!" March Hare jumped, falling side ways on the ground.

"Po-ET," Mallymkun corrected. "And yes, she is."

"M.A.D-by little me!" Linkin sat on the grass, holding Alice's skirt. "Mary Lee, A kerokee, and Dandolee!"

Nobody commented on how it didn't make a lick of sense, but that's because it was their normal and 'Aboveland's crazy. That's why she loved Underland so much, is because she was normal, and not was quite obvious, though, that the Hatter was a tinge jealous because she seemed crazier that he. Another roar echoed throughout the land and all jumped once more, staring at the sky. A looming shadow cloaked them with darkness and passed quickly. Linkin squinted and gulped, the other's staring at her. "What's wrong?" Alice asked.

She stood and laughed nervously. "You all might want to..." Her eyes widened immensely. "RUN!"

Another roar echoed, this time louder. They turned to a rapidly approaching figure and they all followed Linkin's advice, and ran for dear life.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The branches were not so lovely once you tried to dodge them as you ran. Linkin was faster than expected, but she was still behind the rest, making sure if anyone, she'd be caught first, and not her friends. She noted the dragon quite closely. It was black with red eyes, spikes running down it's back and spiraling around it's tail. Her dress tore at the bottom, her bare feet scraping along the tiny pebbles and any sharp blades of grass. Chessur disappeared instantly. Alice tried to reach Linkin, but the others promptly refused to let her do so. The dragon roared and another followed, this time a bit more smooth than the ragged roars that she had been hearing. In the sky, she saw a magestic white being with teal mist orbs for eyes. It struck down and slammed into the black-dragon's back, the spikes of the black dragon scrapping the white stopped and instead ran for them.

"HEY! WAIT A MINUTE!" she called.

"Linkin!" Alice broke free, chasing after her.

The rest followed. Linkin flaied her arms like mad as they roared at the other and clamped their carnivorous teeth on the other's neck. "HEY!" she called. "STOP!"

They froze and turned to Linkin stopping to catch her breath. "It's her..." multiple voices whispered.

"Yes, that's the girl..."

Alice caught up and looked around. "Who's there?"

"Are you blind?" the black dragon narrowed his eyes, his mouth never once moving. "We are-"

"Our mouths, Kinder," the white dragon faced 'Kinder', mouth closed. "They don't move when we speak!"

"Oh."

Chessur reappeared. "You two were just fighting, now you're talking, what relashionship do you have?"

They both faced the disappearing feline. "Mutral."

Linkin sighed and stared up at their heads. "So you made me run...because of...?"

"He thought Alice t'was the one!" the white one gasped.

"Oh, YOU try and get it perfect the first try!" Kinder snapped. "Nobody's perfect, Kong!"

"Kinder, Kong?" Mad Hatter raised an orange brow. "Well. You had us thinking you was the Jabberwocky." He shook his head and then mimicked the 'shame finger' motion. "Not a nice thing, now is it?"

"Frightened near death!" Mallymkun squeaked (what being a mouse and all).

Linkin looked up to Alice. "Alice," she tugged on her skirt, "what 'bout you? Were you scared?"

Alice nodded. "Most definately."

Nivens seemed to be the only one who remembered how the dragons referred to Linkin as. "Excuse me," he hopped closer, "but what do you mean by Linkin here being 'the one'?"

They bent closer, eyes lustfully staring at Nivens. "Lunch," was all they said.

Nivens hopped up with a scream and dashed behind Alice, trembling his poor cotton tail off. "Goodness me! I am lunch for NOBODY," he stressed.

"Except bigger animals," Linkin stated. "They love a good rabbit."

"Oh..." Nivens fainted.

Tarrant clapped his hands together. "Well, while he recovers, who'd care for some tea?"

"ME!" Thackery yelped, jumping up and landing on his back, twitching like there was not a care in the world.

Linkin shook her head. "Drunk, drunk. That's what's made him sunk."

"Ah, see?" Kong nodded to Linkin. "She's the poet of the two."

"I _got _that!" Kinder growled with him mouth, still, shut.

"What's a poet got to do with it?" Linkin rocked on the balls of her feet. "Why don't we go to the table and sit? Long conversation's not gonna make a fire lit."

The dragons sat on the dead grass. "It is said the Red Queen has returned with the Jabberwocky alive," Kinder sighed. "Jabberwocky's the reason we's not moving our mouths. Why we sound like a crowd of crows."

"Poet's know it," Kong chuckled.

"Is this _really _a time for jokes?" Mallymkun huffed.

"So you need a poet...to know it?" Linkin raised a brow. "How to get your mouths to move it?"

They nodded. She sighed and looked up at Alice with a smile. "Well. Sane _is _insanity here."

"Why don't we ask the White Queen about these rumors?" Alice suggested. "She should know."

"White Queen?" Linkin wobbled after Alice as they walked for the White Queen's castle.

"Yes, the queens of these lands," Tarrant soberly answered. "Only over-ruled once...but the Red Queen."

"Red Queen, White Queen," Linkin muttered, "am I to assume there's a Black and Blue Queen as well?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The castle made Linkin gawk in awe, and that was rare. A bloodhound played with his pups, a loving mother bloodhound watching not so far. A woman in white (pale as too) smiled at trees and whispered to them, making Linkin think her mad. Yet again, who WASN'T in Under Land? A boy much like the solemn one at the party ran up, a full smile making his face seem brighter. "Hello!" he greeted. "You must be Alice! Hey Tarrant!"

"Hey Jhethy," Tarrant ruffled his black hair. "Tell me, how are the ravens holding up?"

"Good," he beamed. "Wanna see 'em?"

Tarrant followed him, along with Alice, and Nivens hopped to the White Queen (who else could she be?). Linkin scanned around as the others went off on their own way, the dragons remaining behind her.

**Chess**

_The kings stood brave and tall_

_Glaring at the opposite wall_

_Both queens were ready_

_Both were steady_

_All four bishops prayed to God_

_The knights each held a silver rod_

_Rooks held their place in the towers_

_Ready to defeat the opposite powers_

_Each pawn shook with fear_

_Knowing their end was near_

_Once a pawn clad in white_

_Decided to start the fight_

_The green chess board was painted red_

_In the fashion of battlefield dread_

"White's the one to start it all," she muttered. "Possible to be the one to fall. Could just be standing too tall."

"Definately the one," Kong pointed to Kinder.

"Let. That. Go."

Linkin giggled and twisted to face the dragons. "You're funny. I gather you live somewhere sunny?"

They nodded. "Our valley is extremely sunny."

"Do you eat honey?" They nodded. "Any trace of a bunny?"

"Oh, so you're the poet."

Linkin turned to the White Queen smiling at her. "Yes ma'am," she nodded. "Almost as sane as ham!"

The Queen chuckled. "Well, it's lovely to meet you. So, do you know the Jabberwocky?" Linkin recited the poem. "Oh, I guess you do," the Queen relaxed a bit. "Well, there have been rumors going around. I find it impossible since the Red Queen was banished."

"Banished?" Linkin cocked her head, rocking on her feet. "What was tarnished?"

"The land, for years," the Queen sighed sadly. "Ooh, dragons!" She walked up to Kinder and Kong. "Hello. Did you come for this poet?" They nodded. "Well, you all can stay here until this is settled. I myself don't know if these rumors are true..."

Linkin smiled and spotted Alice coming back, running to her and grabbing her hand. "Alice! Alice! Do you think these rumors are true?"

Alice shrugged. "Don't know. Anything happens here, so it's impossible to predict."

_Unless you're mad_, Linkin thought. Oh how right she was, but in a different sense.

Later, she was shown by Jhethy to a small white room that was...not bleak. To tell all, she was amazed that there was a white room that wasn't bleak. The bed was four-posted, the sheets and blankets piling up to form cloud-like appearences. The window curtains were silk snow, cold to. The moonlight, brilliant white, poured in, coating her face in coolness. She smiled and curtsied to Jhethy, who left with a brilliant white smile.

Later, as she slept, she had a funny dream. A man with a red heart for an eyepatch sat next to a woman with a large head. Both refused to face the other. They looked directly at her and smiled. _Welcome, _they said in unison, _we've been waiting for you._ A roar echoed in the distance and Linkin faced the ground to find her feet bare and dirty, not at all what she should be walking around with. Her dress was replaced with a white nightgown, the sleeves torn off and the bottom cut up to the knees. She walked to them and grabbed a sword from the ground far from their reach, lifting it up in the air.

She cut the chains in two.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Mornin' Linny!" Jhethy shook Linkin's shoulder.

Linkin yawned and stretched slightly, opening her eyes. "Oh, hello Jhethy. How are you so energetic this early?"

He laughed softly and helped her to sit up. The first thing she saw was a pair of red eyes staring at her. "This is Taploe," Jhethy patted the raven's head. "He likes to cling to my head for some reason. You can pat his head."

Linkin blinked and reached to pat his feathery head, but he bit her hand with his sharp beak. "Ow!" she cried, covering the slice. "Ow!"

"Taploe!" Jhethy scolded the bird. "What's wrong with you?"

Alice came in at the sound of her 'ow's. "What happened?" she asked.

"OW! Mean Raven!" Linkin glared at the apparently blood-lustful 'over-grown parakeet'.

"Sorry! He's usually not-OW!" Jhethy swatted at Taploe as he started pecking his head, blood streaming down his forehead. "WHAT THE HECK?"

Eventually, the whole castle was up and trying to control the murderous bird. Tarrant was the one to get the 'bloody rat with wings' off. "Poor dears," Alice took out a piece of cloth and dabbed all peck-spots on the two children, the only ones pecked. "What got into that raven?"

"I have no idea," Jhethy winced. "He's usually peaceful. That was just bloody INSANITY!" he screamed at the bird.

"I do not think he is funny," Linkin crossed her arms. "He's worse than the bunny."

Nivens huffed. "My humor is not atrotious."

"It actually quite is," Tarrant informed.

Nivens sighed. "Anyone have the slightest clue why the raven paniced?"

Something tapped on the window and everyone in the room turned to Kong, blinking teal eyes. The White Queen, rather silent with thought, opened the window. "Yes?" she cocked her head to the side.

"We have company."

A roar seemed to shake the land. Linkin ran to Alice and Tarrant and clung to both. Jhethy grabbed the back of Linkin's dress and stared outside. A black figure shot across the sky, fire being brought to the trees. "Where's my dear sister?" a voice rang.

Linkin's eyes widened. "It's her..."

Alice pried Linkin's fingers away from the back of her dress and kneeled in front of her. "Who Linkin?"

"It's her...her...I..."

Linkin rambled on, each fragment not making any sense at all, not even for them! The White Queen rushed out, Tarrant, Jhethy, Alice, and Linkin close behind. Nivens and several others were following, just not as close. The White Queen shoved the looming doors open and stomped to the culprit. The woman with the fairly large head was standing in front of the now ash gates. The man acompaning her was the same one in Linkin's dream, just as stern as well. The woman smiled. "Well, here she is. How did I know you'd have your grubby hands on her?"

"Who's 'her'?" the White Queen demanded.

The woman pointed straight at Linkin. "I'd much appreciate if you hand her over."

Tarrant stood in front of Linkin, eyes red. "You're not getting your hands on her."

Alice grasped Tarrant's shoulder. "Calm down."

Tarrant's eyes faded back to green and he straightened. "Thank you Alice," he nodded. "Now, what is she to you?"

Linkin gulped loud enough to make everyone turn to her. Kong and Kinder flew behind her, staring up in horror at the Jabberwock soaring above. "I...It was a dream...I didn't...YOU'RE NOT REAL!" Linkin grabbed her head, shaking it. "You're...you're not..."

The woman offered a hand. "Come on dearie. You released me. Don't act so cold."

Alice stared down at Linkin. "W-What?"

"I-It was a dream!" Linkin turned to Alice. "I swear!"

Jhethy thought. "Maybe..."

Cards marched forward. "Seize her!" the woman pointed to Linkin.

"Linkin run!" Alice erged her forward.

Linkin ran, Alice about to go as well until the cards had her pinned to the ground, just like every last one of them. "Take them to the castle and throw them into the dungeon," the woman, the Red Queen, stiffened. "They are due to a beheading!"

Kong and Kinder flew off, able to escape with their lives and off to make sure Linkin did as well.

**Review~**

**Sorry for short chapters.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Linkin kept running. She didn't stop for anything, not even the roars of Kinder and Kong. Her head was forcing her to see the branches writhe, the flowers die, and the sky turn a stale brown. She shook her head and slammed into a tree, grabbing her head and shaking it furiously. Her insanity was catching up with her. _Writhe, die, and fry. Writhe, die, and fry. Writhe, die, fry. _"Shut up!" she screamed. _WRITHE. DIE. FRY. WRITHE. DIE. FRY. __**WRITHE. DIE. FRY. **_"I said shut up!"

A spear launched into a nearby tree. She turned to several cards who found her. She gasped. A roar rang through the trees and a massive black dragon tail swiped them all off their feet, all crashing unconscious into the soil. Kinder came up, the voices loud and everywhere. "What are you doing? Are you trying to die?"

Linkin shook her head. "I just," she picked up a sharp rock, "want this," she lifted it to the side of her head, "poem to," she distanced the stone, "**GO AWAY!**"

She bashed it against her head, the blood streaming. She did it only twice, seeing both dragons managed to stop her before a finishing third. "Stop!" both dragons cried.

Linkin twitched madly. She started cackling softly, holding the left side of her face with her right hand. _Linkin sat in the asylum, staring out of the bleak window to the bleak and depressing rain. Her hair was shaved off, every last bit. Her torso was hugged by her arms, pinned there by the strait-jacket. She waited to be given her official room, just like the doctors said. She stared at each raindrop and whispered, "Happy fifth birthday, Linkin."_

Linkin blinked and looked down to see no strait-jacket. _That's right, Alice took me out_. She made a brave face and smeared the blood all over the right side of her face. She let her bloody hand fall to her side and she picked up the rock again. She turned to both dragons.

"Is there some weapon I'm supposed to use?" she asked, eyes serious. They cocked their heads. She recited _Jabberwocky _again. "He had a sword. That means Alice used a special sword on Fabjous Day to slay the Jabberwock. Is there something _I _am supposed to use for _this_?" she motioned everywhere.

"I think it's an axe…" Kinder thought.

Linkin rolled her eyes and held her hips with her hands. "You don't _know_? You risked all our necks when you don't _know_?"

Kinder hung his head. Kong sighed, "Sorry, but if we knew how to return, we would've by now."

Linkin nodded. It was a good point. "Okay then," she straightened. "Where's a den?"

Kinder caught the rhyme. "She's rhyming," he chuckled.

Linkin nodded with a smirk. "Yes I am. Tell me, is there a wise lamb?"

Kong put the pieces together of her rhyming to an actual sentence: _Where's a dark place and is there a wise person? _"Follow us," Kinder started flying.

"She can't fly," Kong reminded.

"It's easy, jump at the ground and miss."

Kong rolled his teal eyes and let Linkin climb onto his back. He flew off and Linkin watched how fast they went over trees and bushes and flowers. She looked up at the sky and saw it was staling into a meek coffee-color. "That's bad," Linkin muttered. "Can you go faster?"

Kinder and Kong sped up indeed. Something rumbled, and it certainly wasn't a stomach. Linkin turned her torso, her knees still forward on Kong's scales. She gulped.

So it _was _a stomach. Just one belonging to a huge bird.

**Review~**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

"…May you, by any chance, go faster? I'm afraid if we don't, we'll go on a HUGE platter."

Kong turned his head to the huge bird, now darting for Kinder. "KINDER!" he cried.

Kinder turned, only to his demise. The beak of the bird lodged into his red eye. Kinder roared and shook his head furiously. Kong rammed the bird and it flew back, opening its bloodied beak to let out a large 'CAW'. Linkin covered her eyes. _How did this wonderful fantasy…turn into such a frightful nightmare? _She felt Kong jerk and dropped her hands to see the Jabberwock high in the air, snarling and bearing his fangs. The menacing beast crashed into Kong's side and Linkin slipped off, plummeting for the ground. The bird darted down after her, 'cawing' loudly. Linkin gripped the gagged rock and chucked it at the over-grown bird, managing to scrape the wing. She kept falling and shut her eyes. _Is this how my nightmare ends? Is this when I wake up? _

_Nightmare_

_Once you close your eyes_

_Your mind goes dark_

_You're surrounded by lies_

_Canine teeth and a dog's ferocious bark_

_You're falling_

_You're crying_

_You wish it would end_

_The fears picking at you_

_You wish to amend_

_Scared of a 'boo'_

_You're scared_

_You're unprepared_

Linkin opened her eyes. Her eyes narrowed and she flipped so she was falling feet-first, landing on the ground safely. She straightened and turned to the Jabberwock carrying Kinder and Kong away. She mapped the route to be south. She'd have to remember that. She turned around again and spotted a small, blue butterfly. "Hello," it said. "I'm Absolem. You?"

"I'm Linkin," she answered plainly. "Are you a friend of Alice's?"

"Ah…so you know Alice," he flew up, landing on a branch.

"Yes I do," Linkin nodded. "Some call me by a poet, just so you know."

"You don't sound very much like so."

She slumped. "I haven't been lately. Everything's so rough and hasty."

"Now I see it," he chuckled. "Tell me, where _is _Alice?"

Linkin shot straight up, alert. "You don't know? She was taken by the Red Queen, along with everyone else at the White Queen's castle!"

He thought about it. "Hm. I'm afraid I _don't _know about that. What I _do _know is that the Red Queen is here because of _you_."

"How though?" she snapped. "It was a dre-"

"A dream?" he finished. "My dear, that was the intention. In truth, the sword you used took your soul there."

"My _soul_? I'm sorry, but may you explain? This world just gets more _confusing _by the mere _second_ spent here!"

He laughed, and this was out of sheer amusement, not harsh. "Well, for you it is. Alice has been here several times and is already used to the fact of Under Land being _quite _the mystery."

"Well, yeah, that's because Alice is smart," Linkin blinked.

"And you're not?" he challenged.

"Nope. Not one morsel to cope."

Absolem laughed again. "Well, it's quite easy. Everyone has a soul, you know that?" She nodded slowly. "Well, the sword you used is a special one. It's called the Soul Sword. Quite-"

"Bleak," she finished. "Yes it is rather meek."

He continued, smiling. "The sword knew the Red Queen wanted to be free, so it waited for the poet, so she could fix it."

She thought. "So…in order for the Red Queen to win her freedom of those chains…the sword used me, but it also bit her back, seeing that since I released her, I would fix it, so it can see whether or not she gets to remain free?"

Absolem nodded. "See? Not as daft as you think you are, dear."

Linkin recognized the problem at hand. "I don't have a weapon to fight with."

"It's alright for now. I know the place where your weapons are."

"Weapons?"

"One is the Soul Sword, only to be used against Uilleam and the Jabberwock."

"Uilleam is that big bird, right?" Absolem nodded. "Huh, I thought its name was 'over-grown parakeet'."

"Seems that way, doesn't it?" he chuckles, obviously in good humor today. "The other is an axe, used for the rest. Be warned though, it might be too heavy for such a little girl such as you."

Linkin smiled and positioned herself bravely, her face showing the strong emotion. "I don't care, I will save Under Land once more from what I have caused!"

Absolem smiled wider and flew up. "Follow me, and be quick. Even the sword has no idea when the Red Queen will get rash or not."

Linkin followed in haste, unaware of the test and trial to come.

**Review~**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Alice sat on her calves in her cell, her wrists bound with tight rope. Jhethy and Tarrant were in the cells on either side of her, everyone else barely visible due to the thick amount of dust that seemed to fog the room. The dungeon door opened and two card guards entered, the Red Queen herself entering just behind. The wicked woman herself stopped in front of Alice's cell with clasped hands. "Oh Alice," she shook her head, smirking. "It seems you've gotten yourself in quite the quagmire."

"I don't care," Alice sneered. "You still don't have Linkin. _Nor will you ever!_"

The Red Queen frowned and glared slightly. "What makes you say that? She's only-"

"Only nine?" Alice raised a brow. "My, that's the common mistake people make. I was somewhere around six when I first met you, don't you remember?"

The Red Queen's eye twitched and she walked further down in front of the White Queen. "Well sister, I guarantee you this will be the end of your 'oh so glorious' reign in my absence." The Red Queen set her hands on the skirt of her dress and leaned somewhat. "Under Land's true queen is back, and she's not about to let a group of hoping, no-good, cocky _loons_ make her look like a complete fool."

"You've already accomplished that!" Jhethy roared, his voice beating against the walls.

"Now Jhethy," Tarrant sighed.

The Red Queen stood up straight and stomped in front of the young boy's cell, glaring and her arms crossing. "You boy, what's your name?"

"Jhethy," he answered. "The name that's going to be on your grave next to 'Killed By'."

"J-Jhethy!" Nivens gulped.

The Red Queen let out a low hiss of displeasure. She pointed a red nail at his glaring eyes. "Off with his head first. Take him up now, actually. It'd serve as a warm-up for everyone else."

The Red Queen stomped out with her nails digging into her palms. The guards unlocked Jhethy's cage and forced him up roughly, shoving him out and slamming the cell shut. Nobody could speak. They could only watch as Jhethy was taken out for slaughter. The White Queen held her bound hands up to her mouth to whisper prayers. Tarrant and Nivens followed this example. Eventually everyone from the White Castle was praying, excluding Alice. She glared at the rusted bars in front of her, some of her blonde strands swaying in front of her face. The roar of Kinder and Kong rattled the dungeon walls, and everyone turned in some hope, but only Alice remained still. "Alice?" Mallymkun blinked.

"I doubt it's her," Alice whispered. "She wouldn't just bring Kinder and Kong. She prefers more help than two dragons or two people."

Alice had indeed played some chess with young Linkin. No matter what, Linkin always protected her pieces with at least three others. She won every time. "You're right," the White Queen sighed. "They were captured. No sign of Linkin anywhere."

Tarrant sat back down, staring at the hay he sat on. _Where did she run off to?_ "O-Oh dear!" Nivens squeaked.

The door opened to three other guards. "Get up. It's time for your beheading."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Linkin stumbled as she entered a damp cave with a blue-glow produced by butterflies. "This is where the weapons are?" she blinked, looking around to see the same three things: butterflies, rocks, and moss.

"Yes," Absolem nodded. "Let's see…Ah, here we are!"

Linkin stopped when she saw the natural skylight shine over a rock with the Soul Sword on top. It glistened and she stumbled forward to grab it with cut-up and filthy fingertips. She held it in front of her face and tilted it this way and that, seeing the blade flicker with sunlight. She dropped her arm slowly, the blade knocking against the stone ground, and looked around. There wasn't an axe right there, but she saw a large rock that shimmered slightly. Her gut said to strike it with the sword, so she stepped in front of it and held the sword straight behind her, not shifting her body or holding it with two hands. She swung it forward and it cut right through, the rock crumbling at her feet and showing a brilliant silver axe, the handle much like a pen tip and the axe/cleaver the feathers of a quill. The grabbed it by the stem and tried to pick it up with one hand. It worked.

"You passed the test, hm," Absolem flew over.

"What test? I just went with the best guess."

"Only the poet would've NOT asked where the axe was, knowing it was behind the rock. That, and you can wield it with a single hand."

She noted the tip was as sharp as a knife. She also noticed the feathers had famous poets written on each of them. William Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, all of them. Something glowed and strips of the wall peeled off, wrapping around Linkin's body parts to turn out as a suit of steel armor, the helmet lacking. "Don't you think I should have a helmet seeing she keeps saying 'off with your head'?" Linkin poked her exposed temple.

Absolem shook his head. "I do not know everything. Although, it might be that there's only so much steel in the wall."

Linkin shrugged and walked outside, looking around. "Now we just have to get Alice and the others…"

Absolem nodded towards the West. "The Red Queen's castle is West of here. Can you handle this alone?"

Ann stuck the Soul Sword into the steel sheathe she acquired. "I don't care if I'm alone or with an army…" she clutched the handle of the Quill Axe. "I will fix everything."

She sped forward, branches slicing at her face and roars filling the air.

_The Jabberwock will fall _

_With slashes_

_The Red Queen will bawl_

_In shackles _

_The dragons will stand oh so tall_

_With voices_

_The poet will answer the call_

_Oh yes_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Jhethy was standing, glaring at the log stump. _Looks like someone's improvising…_A guard shoved him forward and he stumbled slightly. _For crying out loud…Linkin and Alice come and all goes to utter chaos! _He spat at the ground and kept walking forward, staring at the sky. _Come on Linkin, I would really appreciate if you'd get over here and help. I like my head, thank you very much. _Even with his thoughts, he refused to look like a coward…

…he didn't know this wasn't the way to do it.

He was forced onto his knees and his head was tilted to the side. The others watched with blank expressions, so he couldn't tell if he was going to be cried over or not. Yet again, he figured they were all crying inside over their own lives. He sighed as the executioner walked up, all dressed in black. The Red Queen sat in a red chair and watched from a balcony, hands elegantly folded over her lap. She stiffened and said audibly, "Off with his head."

The executioner picked up a large axe with a red heart as the blade. He raised it high above his head and Jhethy spotted several of the others shutting their eyes. He smiled and shut his eyes…

_**CLANG!**_

He blinked and twisted as much as he could to see what looked like an over-sized quill preventing the axe from lopping off his head. "Jhethy RUN!" he heard Linkin grunt.

"Linkin!" he cheered, standing up.

"Seize them!" the Red Queen ordered. "Bring the girl to me!"

The guards charged forward and some kept the others at bay, making sure to corner them without hopes of escaping the castle. Linkin winced as the weight of the executioner's axe fought against the power she put into the quill axe she decided to name 'Clever Cleaver', for obvious reasons. She pushed as hard as she could against it and kicked the executioner back and swung it at his side with the back, causing him to fly and crash into another group of guards. Jhethy raised his hands when a guard tried to swing his axe at his head, the blade slicing through the bonds and allowing Jhethy to grab the axe, kicking the guard back and jerking the weapon out of his hands. Linkin and Jhethy got back to back and glared at the circle that was going around them. When the guards charged forward, Linkin and Jhethy pushed away from each other and struck.

Blood sprinkled the ground faintly, for neither Jhethy or Linkin were cold-blooded killers. They just cut and slammed the handles against any vulnerable body-parts they could find. Linkin worked her way over to the other prisoners and kicked a card's back into Tarrant, who clobbered his head with his bound hands. Linkin swung the Quill two other guards when the roar of the Jabberwock rang, forcing everyone to face the sky. The Red Queen smirked, making Linkin grab the hilt of the Soul Sword. The Jabberwock in the scales flew up from behind the walls, spreading his wings out wide and dark. He darted towards Linkin and she swung the sword out, causing a deep gash in the beast's snout. The Jabberwock roared and flew back, his snout stinging. Linkin turned back and swung the axe (or cleaver) to knock out the other guards. She cut everyone's bondage and she started running.

"Follow me!" she shouted as she neared the front gates.

"STOP THEM!" the Red Queen stood, face as red as a tomato.

The Jabberwock flew up once more and darted for the girl. She simply ducked and the Jabberwock crashed snout-first through the gates, allowing them access. "Thanks!" Jhethy waved at the Red Queen, running behind Tarrant.

The Red Queen screamed in rage as they ran off further and further across the dead land, large masses oozing green liquid that Linkin could not and rather would not name. Everyone was either smiling or focusing every morsel of their energy on running. The sword was back in Linkin's sheathe and Jhethy spotted a large wooden shack, shaking with some form of force. "What's that?" Mallymkun squeaked, clinging to Jhethy's ear.

"That's where they're keeping Kinder and Kong!" Linkin gripped Clever Cleaver with sweating fingers. "Come on!"

They changed course for the shack and Linkin obliterated a wall with one swing from the cleaver, Kinder and Kong in chains. Tarrant found the key and unlocked them, the dragons leaning against the ground. "Get on!" Kinder 'said'.

Half of them got on Kinder's back and half went onto Kong's, both darting off into the air through the roof. "OW!" every passenger rubbed their heads.

"Oops," Kong chuckled. "Sorry."

They heard one last roar from the Jabberwock before they continued towards the White Castle through the coffee-colored skies.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

"I still have an atrocious headache from crashing into that roof…" Alice rubbed her head at the reminder.

"We all do," the White Queen giggled.

Linkin twitched somewhat and when Jhethy asked why, she did not respond. She was honestly hoping there wasn't a thing crawling in the armor, and that the ticklish feeling was merely sweat or something of the sort. Another roar shook the skies and they looked up to see the blue skies were turning a coffee-brown themselves. "Well that can't be good," Tarrant thought.

"Shouldn't we go into battle?" Mallymkun jumped onto Alice's knee. "I mean, we have Alice and Linkin! They can save Under Land!...Again."

"It seems that only the mad bring trouble to here," Linkin whispered. "So why don't we use some to bring trouble forth to there?"

People smiled, and for the once Linkin _didn't _mean to rhyme. "We need to gather the soldiers," the White Queen spoke. "Everyone please start a plan."

She hurried off to rally up the troops as everyone started to burst out random ideas that came to mind. Nivens even suggested that they used a decoy and then attacked (that decoy being anyone but himself). Jhethy was the one to stand up last. "Why don't we meet them today at the battlegrounds? It has been one full year since the Frabjous Day and they should remember such!"

Linkin nodded. "We can finish this!"

As the two children told GROWN-UPS what the plan was, the Queen came back with troops in chess-piece armor (that or they were chess pieces themselves, Linkin couldn't tell which). "Do we have a plan?"

Tarrant bowed. "Yes, your highness." He stood with a smile and twinkling green eyes. "You know, I've been considering the things that start with the letter 'S'. Salvation, success, strategized…"

"Spoon?" Linkin suggested.

Alice giggled and patted Linkin's red-head. "That _does _start with 'S'."

"Well," the White Queen mounted on a house. "Alice?"

Alice nodded and went off to the castle for a minute before coming back in a suit of armor and a sword with shield. "Wow!" Jhethy and Linkin beamed. "You's like Joan De Arc!"

Alice smiled and mounted on another horse. A smaller white horse came up and nudged Linkin. She nodded and mounted. She took out Clever Cleaver and aimed it to the sky. "Today, WE FIGHT!" Everyone cheered. "TODAY, WE WIN BACK THE LAND! Even though it was taken some hours ago."

Some chuckles spread about as a poem rang through Linkin's head, the horses trotting forward.

_Win_

_We_

_Indicate _

_Notoriousness_

She blinked and shook her head. _What a dreadful little poem…_

_Victory_

_We throw our hands up_

_To the sky_

_We're late for Sup_

_But listen, fly!_

_We won! We won!_

_Oh sweet victory!_

_We gained back the ton_

_And beat out the ivory._

She blinked once more and shrugged. Her weapons shimmered a mysterious blue light, but she ignored it. That day…they would fight with their all. The outcome? Well, that's for you to find out soon enough.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

The battlefield was that of a chessboard, nobody caring which square to stand in or if to stand in one or not. The Red Queen's troops were spotted and they stopped at the other end. The sky was clashing with the coffee color and the blue, fighting whether to go for pollution or salvation. The trees on the opposing side were dead and withered. The ones on Linkin's side were full-grown and blossoming. At the sight of Linkin, the Red Queen took a step forward; as did the White Queen. "Well Mirana," the Red Queen spat, "it seems you're acting quite cocky. Smiling like victory is suddenly going to come to you. HA!"

"I only hope we," 'Mirana' motioned her side, "will win today, Iracebeth."

_Iracebeth? _Linkin thought. _No wonder why she's bitter…_"I deserve the crown!" the Red Queen stomped. "I do! Not you! I'm the eldest! YOU WILL NOT FOIL MY PLANS AGAIN YOU WECH!"

Tarrant growled, his eyes turning a disastrous orange. Alice set a hand on his shoulder and he started to calm down. Linkin scowled and got off her horse, the noise of her armor greaves hitting the ground drawing everyone their attention. "The White Queen be not the wech thy speak of!" Linkin screamed. "She be brave and bold! Ye be a coward of the wolves, sacrificing everyone just to get one little smidget of WHAT?" People opened their mouths to say 'Under Land is not little', but she continued, proving it unnecessary. "Power be thy downfall if ye cannot handle it. Thus thy soul hath gone and turned black with charcoal and Under Land reduced to dust n' ash." The cleaver and the Soul Sword were both shimmering, the Soul Sword floating into Linkin's hand alone out of its sheathe. "I say this, _Iracebeth_….OFF WITH THE JABBERWOCK'S HEAD!"

Her side cheered as the true power of the poet gleamed in her face, the determination and care she held for her friends and family. The Red Queen growled. "Fine then! Send up your champion, Mirana!"

The White Queen looked between Alice and Linkin. "Who shall go?"

Alice stepped up. Linkin knew that from the moment Alice made up her mind, you could not change it. "I will."

"Very well," the Red Queen snapped. "BRING FORTH THE JABBERWOCK!"

The Jabberwock roared and landed on the ground in front of the Red Queen, snarling. Two other roars sounded and Kinder and Kong landed behind the White Queen's forces. The Red Queen waited for Alice and the Jabberwock to start fighting, signaling the begin of the battle. Alice, for one, was shaking inside the armor, worried for Tarrant, for the White Queen, for Nivens, for Linkin, for everyone she was representing. "Ah, so it's you again," the Jabberwock sneered. "Remember how you cut off my head last time? Well, I WON'T make the same mistake again."

"We'll see about that," Alice exhaled. "After all…" she charged forward, swinging her Vorpal Blade at its neck, "I HAVE PEOPLE TO COME BACK ALIVE TO!"

The Jabberwock dodged and the battle begun. The Jabberwock swung its large tail at Alice and hit her hard in the side, slamming her into the stone staircase of the ancient ruin next to the battle ground. Jhethy whistled and called forth his ravens, which pecked at the cards while he knocked them out with the pan he got from the White Castle Kitchen. Linkin fought with her all, the Cleaver never once ceasing to amaze her. A card smashed her right cheekbone with the handle of their spear, causing a painful snap and a bruise to form. Linkin swung the back of the cleaver at his side, making him fly and crash into the Knave of Hearts. Linkin turned to see Alice's battle with the Jabberwock was not going well. The Jabberwock had managed to bite off her right arm's armor, leaving an exposed spot.

"Alice…" she breathed.

Someone slammed her stomach with the handle of the spear. She fell to the ground, the card raising its spear to strike her heart. She deflected it with her cleaver, which was a brilliant blue, like…the butterflies! The sky suddenly was filled with the blue butterflies in the cave, drawing a curtain of light-blue light over the battlefield. Tarrant came up and kicked the card onto the ground. "You alright?" he helped Linkin up.

Linkin nodded and looked back at Alice, who was thrown against a pillar. "ALICE!" she screamed, running towards her.

"Wait!" Tarrant tried to catch her. "Don't interfere!"

Alice looked up, her face bruised up and cut. The Jabberwock laughed. "Is this the same Alice I fought a year ago? You're pathetic!"

Alice laughed a little herself. "That's what you think. I can assure you it's the same me."

The Jabberwock opened its mouth and charged.

_**CLING!**_

Some blood sprinkled the ground. Alice blinked and saw Linkin pushing the Jabberwock back with the cleaver. "RUN, ALICE!" Linkin screamed, swinging the cleaver to slice the Jabberwock's tongue.

"AAHHHH!" the Jabberwock roared. "YOU'LL PAY LITTLE RUNT!"

Alice tried to object, but Linkin swung her cleaver at the ground behind her, causing that part of the ancient ruin to collapse and make Alice fall into the branches of a tree. She blinked and realized what was happening now.

**Linkin was fighting the Jabberwock.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

"_Now stay still," the doctor said as he injected something into her. "See? It's all going away. You know there's no such thing as talking animals and waving flowers."_

_Linkin shook her tiny bob of red-hair aimlessly. "I don't believe you. I don't believe you. I want to see the cat again."_

_They sighed. "What a stubborn case," a nurse muttered. "Girls need to learn how to grow up!"_

Linkin swung her cleaver at the Jabberwock's snout repeatedly, tears streaming her dirty face with the bruise over her right cheek. "I! DON'T! CARE! IF! I'M! MAD!" she screamed. "YOU WILL **NOT **TOUCH ALICE _**AGAIN!**_"

The Soul Sword was glowing in her hand. She set down the cleaver and bent backwards to prevent the tail from giving her an awful concussion. She heaved the Soul Sword across his left eye and blood trickled down the black scaled as the left eye was no more. He roared and sent her flying to a pillar with one blow of his cut-up snout. Linkin grunted and stood up weakly as the Jabberwock tried to get at her while she was down. She sent the Soul Sword in his left wing, dashing across and off the ruin, rolling in the dust and ash. The Jabberwock shook its wing and jumped off, landing next to her.

She fought to get herself up and ran, the Jabberwock ferociously bounding after her. She looked back and stopped. When he raised his upper body, she quickly dashed past, slicing his right leg open and climbing onto the tail, running up his back. She fell onto the scales when he jerked, trying to fight her off. His tail wrapped around her ankle and threw her back onto the ancient ruin, the armor over her back shattering, the one over her chest falling off. The top of her dress was revealed and the bottom of her armor was still remaining. The armor gloves kept on, but her whole chest was vulnerable.

She shook her hair out from its dusty veil and jumped off the ruin as the Jabberwock smashed into its side, reducing the rubble to even _further _rubble. The troops that were in the Jabberwock's path were stomped on, Tarrant helping Alice up and both trying to get Alice to the Jabberwock to finish him off before Linkin was eaten in a single swallow. Linkin, although, ignored them, and swung the Soul Sword at the Jabberwock. The light-blue light was shimmering over the Jabberwock's head, telling her that was the part she needed to lop off. A nasty 'CAW' rung and she knew the Dodo bird had joined the fight. She looked up and it resulted in her body being pinned by the tail. She could see the Dodo bird darting for Kinder and Kong.

"NO!" she sliced off the tip of the tail and racing for the bird, jumping up and raising the sword. She dug it deep into the bird and it fell, cold and still. Kinder and Kong saw this and she snatched the Soul Sword out, covered in the bird's blood at the tip to the middle. The Jabberwock seized her arm in its mouth and flung her up, causing her arm to bleed and most of it ripped out. As she was in mid-air, she flipped a little so she was heading down sword first. The Jabberwock didn't care and opened its mouth. She shut her eyes and she suddenly felt warm. She opened her eyes to the dark cavern of his mouth. She quickly sliced every fang and tooth she could to prevent from being chewed and slaughtered the tongue so her blood wouldn't be tasted. She shoved the sword in its throat.

"All those years in the loony-bin…ALL FOR THIS!" she ripped it up, tearing through the throat and up through the head, climbing out and sliding down to its back.

"NO!" the Red Queen shrieked.

Linkin swung her Soul Sword for one last time and the Jabberwock's head fell to the ground. The body fell over, pinning Linkin to the ground, covered in saliva and blood. "Well…may I say that was the most h_orrifying _experience of my natural life," she panted.

The Jabberwock was dead and the cards dropped their spears. The Red Queen screamed and picked one up herself. She ran for Linkin as she tried to get out and Jhethy seized the back of the spear, ripping it out of her hands and pointing it at her face. "I wouldn't think about it."

Nivens, Mallymkun, Alice, Tarrant, and the White Queen shoved the Jabberwock off of Linkin. "Well, the poet did it," Chessur appeared. "I'm impressed."

Linkin held her arm and nodded with a smile. "Yep…

"…it's over."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

The White Queen turned to the Red Queen and the Knave of Hearts. "You are hereby banished once more," she said.

"You were never meant to…" Linkin walked up to the Red Queen, "…rule."

Linkin snatched the crown off her big head and tossed it to the White Queen with her good left arm. It shrunk slightly and morphed into the color of moonlight silver. She caught it and sat it on her head. Kinder and Kong roared with open mouths, their scales shimmering and when they opened their eyes, they had pupils, the spikes on Kinder sharpening and their size reducing to 'travel' (or what could at least be the size of Linkin from her torso up). "Well," the White Queen nodded. She took out a vial and took some purple ooze coming from the Jabberwock's fang. "Here you go," she gave it to Alice.

Alice took it and Tarrant smiled at her. "You could stay," he reminded.

"Yeah, even Linkin!" Jhethy hugged Linkin's left arm.

Alice smiled and hugged Tarrant, then pulling away. "I'm sorry, but…"

"They can't stay for the mean time," Absolem came down from the sky of butterflies, who immediately surrounded Linkin's right arm and when they parted, it was healed. "With Linkin's achievement, as long as you go down the rabbit hole, you can always come back."

Linkin smiled and nodded. "But right now, we kind of have to deal with the whole situation we were in before this."

Jhethy beamed and Tarrant nodded with a brilliant smile. Then the mad hare came out and waved. "Hello!"

Linkin laughed and waved as well. Alice took half of the vial and Linkin drank the other. Soon enough, everything melted into smoke and all went black. Linkin looked around and down to see herself in her dress, the right sleeve torn slightly in the similar teeth marks the Jabberwock had left. Her cheek-bone on the right was still broken, but it was healing fast. "Where are we Alice?" she asked. "Are we in a dark palace?"

Alice laughed and patted Linkin's head. "No, we're in the rabbit hole. See the light?"

Linkin then noticed the light and nodded. "We have to climb more?" Linkin complained.

Alice laughed once more and started climbing, Linkin by her side.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

The sunlight was harsh on Linkin's eyes when they came out, revealing more of the tattered dress. On the skirt was a new imprint of a blue butterfly. "Look Alice!" she tugged on Alice's skirt when they stood. "Absolem!"

Alice patted Linkin's head and they started walking back to the occasion, seeing everyone was whispering somewhat worriedly. Linkin was smiling, every bleak thing coloring itself a bit more in the cheerful tone. Alice's sister Margret spotted them and ran over. "Alice! Linkin! Where have you two been?"

"Oh, we went to get some fresh air," Alice giggled. "Why?"

"You were gone for fifteen minutes!"

"Heaven forbid…" Linkin muttered.

"Now Linkin," Alice laughed.

The Mrs. Stomped over. "Where did you disappear to? And look at this!" she plucked at Linkin's sleeve. "This is not how a woman shows herself in public!"

"I'm not a woman," Linkin pointed out. "I'm a simple girl. If you have a problem, I'm glad to t_ry _and listen to it."

The Mrs. tensed as she saw the brave look on Linkin's face. "You need to learn to get out of your fantasies," she simply stated.

Linkin laughed, Alice smiling. "I'm mad, woman, do you not know? Locked up when I was five, so why bother? Think what you want, but I'll be who I want to be: MY. SELF."

Linkin skipped off and the girls saw her. "It's that weird girl," one of them snickered.

"Mad," Linkin corrected, waving. "Oh, and I like your dress! It's so pretty and pink!"

The girl blinked and replied, "Uh…thanks?"

Linkin then spotted Tomas and the rest of the boys. She skipped over and Tomas saw this. "Oh hello. Came to-" She skipped pass him. "Huh?"

She stopped next to Jack, beaming. "Hello~ I'm Linkin!"

Jack blinked and nodded once. "I'm Jack," he mumbled.

"You remind me of a friend of mine named Jhethy," she rocked on her feet.

"Really now?" he smiled a little.

"Yep! He likes Ravens."

"So do I."

Linkin laughed and sat next to him. Alice was watching and the Mrs. snorted. "This is what you get from a mad-person," she muttered.

"Now, now, we're all a little mad," Alice reminded. "Right Margret?"

Margret blinked and smiled a little. "I guess…"

Alice nodded and remembered the tree. "You know, I really like that tree," she pointed to the top branches that were visible from there. "Was it there when you got the property?"

"Actually yes," the Mrs. nodded. "I don't like it much to be honest."

Alice thought and Linkin came over. "Hey Alice, what's the tree called?" she swayed while rocking on her feet, tugging on Alice's skirt.

"What about 'Alice's Tree'?" Margret suggested. "She is the one who likes it."

"What about the 'Champion Tree'?" Linkin beamed.

While Margret and the Mrs. didn't get it at all, Alice nodded. "That's a good idea."

"Well, you can have it…if you can somehow manage to find a way to get it off there," the Mrs. shrugged.

"We could build a tiny house," Linkin suggested. "Wouldn't that be grand?"

Everyone was silent.

It was worth a shot.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

A month later, Alice wiped sweat from her brow, the house mostly built. It had four rooms: two bedrooms, a Living Room, and a kitchen/dining room. The tree was untouched, the rabbit hole dark and mysterious still. There was a white fence around the house with a little gate. Linkin had posted a sign reading 'Champion Tree Residence' a foot away from the tree. As Linkin passed Alice up some boards, an anonymous presence made notice of itself. "My, what a fitting name for the tree."

Linkin beamed and turned. "Chessur!" she waved. "Look!" she pointed to the house. "We can visit a whole lot now!"

Chessur chuckled. "Indeed. But you'd need a way out."

"Already got it!" Linkin ran into the trees to take out a fleet-load of rope. "Tie this to us and to the branches."

Chessur laughed. "Well, that MIGHT work."

Alice stopped and climbed down. "I'm beat," she sighed. "Anyone else going to take a whack?"

Linkin took the hammer and started. Nivens popped his head out of the hole. "Oh, there you are!" he sighed. "So, I guess you are planning to visit?"

"Why would mad people not visit talking animals and flowers with faces?" Alice giggled.

Jhethy came out of the hole as well. "LINKIN!" he tackled her.

"ACK!"

Alice laughed and Nivens checked his pocket-watch. "Hm, nearly tea time…"

Alice got Linkin to stand up and smiled. "How'd you like some tea?"

"With a mad hatter?" Linkin beamed. Alice nodded. "Oh I couldn't be any happier!"

"Well then, watch your step," Alice led Linkin over to the hole.

Jhethy followed and Chessur floated to them as well. "Three," Jhethy smiled.

"Two," Alice giggled.

"ONE!" Linkin jumped in.

And so, they went down the rabbit hole once more for tea-time with a rather mad-hatter. The walls flew by and Linkin closed her eyes.

_And they lived happily ever after…yep. Sounds about right._


End file.
